Mercury Retrograde Effects

I will begin with a disclaimer:

I am not an astrologer. Nor am I trained in the art of interpreting celestial activities and the impact such activities can have on humans.

What I write here is purely from personal experience, observation, research, and opinion and should be taken as such. 

Mercury Retrograde Effects

A couple of years ago, a good friend introduced me to the workings of Mercury Retrograde. I was experiencing some issues around communication with someone close to me, and I couldn't figure out why.

"It could have something to do with Mercury Retrograde," she said. "We are smack in the middle of it right now."

I'd not heard the term before. I wanted to understand what it meant.

She explained that during Mercury Retrograde, communication tends to go haywire. Misunderstandings with friends and loved ones can escalate. Technology can go rogue, too, leaving people confused, frustrated, and hurt.

And let's be honest: a wonky iPhone is enough to ruin anyone's day.

In Roman mythology, Mercury is known as the messenger god, in charge of all things related to communication. During Mercury's retrograde period, which occurs roughly four times a year, the planet appears to be moving backwards, away from earth. This is actually an optical illusion. As with all illusions, we get tricked into thinking one thing is happening when something else entirely is going on.

Hence, the uptick in open-mouth-insert-foot situations during this three week period. 

 Science -- the way most people understand it -- can't fully explain why these things are so during Mercury's retrograde period. Talk to anyone who is tuned in to the more subtle forces at play on us as beings in a vast Universe full of constant energy and you will hear a different story.

When Mercury is tricking us with its illusion of moving away from the earth, astrology experts suggest investing time in activities that begin with "re" as listed in the image above. This is not a time to shut the world out, but instead think through any communications before hitting send.

Apparently, Mercury Retrograde effects aren't that bad if we adopt an attitude of rethinking things.

Rewriting, relaxing, readjusting, and reconnecting are but a handful of activities people in the know about Mercury Retrograde effects suggest.

I did my part this year sending holiday cards and letters to people I haven't connected with since before the pandemic. It's not that I haven't thought about them; it's just, well.

The Pandemic.

That alone was its own wonky mess.

I didn't send cards with any intentions other than to let people know I'm thinking about them. Whether or not doing that rekindles relationships that have laid dormant for quite some time isn't the point as much as the act of reconnecting through a message of love and light is energizing.

This is the kind of thing I like to believe gets the gods smiling and perhaps mitigates any unwanted Mercury Retrograde effects.

Like blowing up my iPhone.

That's the thought process at this point, anyway.